Observation: Turnagain, Summit

Location: Tenderfoot/Turnagain Road Obs

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Very large glide release near the uptrack on Seattle Ridge. According to DOT web cam, this released yesterday 4/8/16 between 4:51pm and 5:07pm, a common time for someone to beĀ under it. Notice that there is still a very large crack that extends towards the uptrack as well as another crack up above that. There is still plenty of potential for another glide to release closer to the uptrack.

We toured up Tenderfoot in Summit Lake and found very firm and supportable m/f crust from the road to the summit, 3400′. There was 2-3″ of wind stiffened snow above 3000′, but not enough to be a concern, and no real snow available for transport. By 2:30pm the SW face was barely starting to ‘corn’ up, with nice carve-able turns below 2500′. Increasing winds were keeping the surface cooler than expected considering the direct sun and warm temps.

 

Webcam photo take by the DOT on 4/7 between 4:51pm and 5:07pm.

RWIS web cam is still not available on the web. Thanks DOT for sending us a screen shot of the continuous and widening glide on Repeat Offender.

Photo take at 10:30am on 4/8

Photo take at 10:30am on 4/8

Red Flags
Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.
Obvious signs of instability
Recent Avalanches?Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?No
Observer Comments

In additions to Seattle Ridge, there were also recent glide releases on Fresno East Face, Silvertip Creek, and near the Hope Wye.

No other signs of instability were found on Tenderfoot.

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

Sunny
Winds were light becoming Moderate by 2pm from the NE
Temps: 45F at 1200' and 33F at 3400'
No recent precip

Snow surface

1200' - at 11:30am - supportable, required a lot of force to kick boot through 10" surface crust, by 3pm could punch boot through with one kick, but still supportable.
2000'- 8" very hard m/f crust - could still kick boot through with force
3000-3400' - Very firm m/f crust. Couldn't get it to break through with significant kicks and chipping. 2-3" wind blown snow on surface in places.

Snowpack

Didn't dig due to a supportable m/f crust from roadside to summit

Photos & Video
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